isBandGeek() - Slashdot User

Submission + - AT&T Imposes 20GB Bandwidth Limit (pcworld.com)

Submitted by isBandGeek() on Tuesday November 04, 2008 @11:00PM

isBandGeek() writes: AT&T started testing a new system to limit bandwidth, blaming "bandwidth hogs" (examples given: "virtual reality gamers" and "file swappers") for network congestion. Customers have anywhere from a 20GB to a 150GB monthly bandwidth limit, depending on the service they subscribe to. Any bandwidth beyond the cap costs $1 / gigabyte. To soften the blow, AT&T plans to provide customers with a bandwidth measuring tool.

Some were complaining about Comcast's 250GB cap a while back. But now a 20GB cap? Bye, Netflix.

Submission + - Scientists To Post Own DNA Sequences to Web (telegraph.co.uk) 1

Submitted by isBandGeek() on Monday October 20, 2008 @02:43PM

isBandGeek() writes: With shocking disregard to their personal privacy, at least 10 people volunteered to release their entire medical records and DNA sequences in order to get their DNA decoded and analyzed. Will this cause them problems with insurance companies? Will their relatives' privacy also be compromised? Program founder George Church plans to expand this program by asking for 100,000 more volunteers.

Submission + - MPAA sues for injunction against RealDVD (pcmag.com)

Submitted by isBandGeek() on Thursday October 02, 2008 @01:26AM

isBandGeek() writes: Nearly a month ago, it was reported that RealNetworks, a company best known for its media player, RealPlayer, started selling RealDVD, a piece of software that copies DVDs to your computer. Though there are freeware alternatives, RealDVD appears to be simpler to use for most consumers. Interestingly, it adds more DRM to the copies that it makes, restricting their use to 5 Windows PCs.

Apparently, even those restrictions were not enough to appease Hollywood. Yesterday, the studios sued RealNetworks for violating the DCMA, seeking an injunction and damages. The MPAA's general counsel was audacious enough to state:

RealDVD should be called StealDVD. RealNetworks knows its products violates the law and undermines the hard-won trust that has been growing between America's movie makers and the technology community.

Funny thing. I haven't heard anyone here or elsewhere in the "technology community" praising the MPAA.

Submission + - Chinese iPhone to be released without Wi-Fi and 3G (wired.com)

Submitted by bandGeek() on Friday September 26, 2008 @01:06AM

bandGeek() writes: China Mobile, a wireless carrier prominent in China, has requested that Apple ship a modified version of the iPhone with the Wi-Fi and 3G chips disabled. It is speculated that China Mobile wishes to keep tech-savvy citizens from unlocking their phones and using them with its competitor's (China Telecom) network. Strangely enough, China Mobile seems to be ignoring the thriving black market for smuggled and fake iPhones. The crippled, offical version of the phone will be inferior to the ones currently in circulation, much like how retail copies of software containing DRM are inferior to their cracked counterparts.

Submission + - Apple Censors App Store Rejection Notices (techradar.com)

Submitted by isBandGeek() on Thursday September 25, 2008 @03:01AM

isBandGeek() writes: After a few reasonable App Store bans, such as the ones on I Am Rich and NetShare, developers started complaining about excessive restrictions on applications like Podcaster and MailWrangler, supposedly because they provided "duplicate functionality". In response, Apple rubbed salt in their wounds by slapping non-disclosure agreements on application rejection notices. Now developers are not even allowed to tell their fanbase that Apple decided to withhold approval for an application. Is Apple confident that Google's open platform Android won't be much of a threat?

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